Convened through a partnership with 100 Resilient Cities, ULI experts to assess effectiveness of the city’s stormwater management program

WASHINGTON (April 24, 2018) – (RealEstateRama) — A group of nationally renowned land use planning experts representing the Urban Land Institute (ULI) will visit Miami Beach next week to advise municipal leaders on the effectiveness of the city’s stormwater management plan in mitigating the impacts of sea-level rise such as increased tidal flooding and adapting to climate change through investments in drainage systems and other infrastructure as well as regulatory changes to encourage more climate resilient building design and development.

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ULI is a global, multidisciplinary real estate organization whose work is driven by 40,000-plus members dedicated to ULI’s mission of responsible land use and building thriving communities. The panel will convene in Miami Beach April 16-19 as part of the ULI Advisory Services Program, which for 71 years has gathered groups of ULI members who are experts in the fields of real estate development and land use to advise communities facing complex urban development challenges.

In 2013, the City of Miami Beach passed a multi-year, $600 million stormwater management program, and has asked the ULI panel to evaluate results of the program to date as well as provide feedback and recommendations for the program’s strategy going forward. Over an intensive three-day engagement, the ULI panel will meet with dozens of stakeholders through workshops, site tours, interviews, and listening sessions, and provide a set of preliminary set of recommendations at the conclusion of the visit.

The ULI panel has been funded through a partnership with the 100 Resilient Cities—Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC), an organization dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to physical, social, and economic challenges of the 21st century. In 2016, the City of Miami Beach was selected to join the 100RC Network, in partnership with the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County. The report from the ULI panel will inform the development of the Resilient Greater Miami and the Beaches Resilience Strategy, due to be released this coming winter. As a 100RC Platform Partner, ULI provides technical expertise and solutions in the areas of resilience and land use planning to cities in the 100RC Network at no direct cost to 100RC Network members.

Chaired by Joyce Coffee, founder and president of Chicago-based Climate Resilience Consulting, the ULI panel will examine how effective the program has been in improving hard infrastructure—elevating roads, modernizing Miami Beach’s drainage system through innovative engineering practices, and replacing its aging water and sewer infrastructure. The panel will also examine recent regulatory changes Miami Beach has undertaken to incorporate climate adaption into land use and development codes, and whether these changes hold promise for encouraging more climate resilient design and construction. In addition, the panel will look at the city’s strategic communications and public outreach efforts about the potential costs and solutions associated with the stormwater management program and more broadly, adapting effectively to climate change.

“As a coastal city, Miami Beach is among the world’s most vulnerable cities when it comes to sea-level rise and climate change, but it has also embraced the challenge through forward-thinking policies and programs such as its stormwater management program,” Coffee said. “We applaud this work, and look forward to the opportunity to provide the city of Miami Beach and its leadership strategic advice and input on their efforts to be a more climate resilient city.

The strength of ULI’s Advisory Services Program lies in ULI’s unique ability to draw upon the knowledge and expertise of its diverse membership, which includes real estate developers, engineers, investors, architects, urban planners and designers working across private, public, and nonprofit sectors. “The independent views of panelists provide a fresh perspective on the complex urban development challenges cities like Miami Beach face every day,” said Tom Eitler, senior vice president of ULI’s Advisory Services Program. “The Advisory Services Program is all about offering creative, innovative approaches and strategies to solving problems, strengthening communities, and improving quality of life.”

NOTE TO REPORTERS AND EDITORS: Members of the media may attend a public listening session on Tuesday, April 17, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the City of Miami Beach Commission Chambers, 1700 Convention Center Drive, 3rd Floor, Miami Beach, FL, 33139. In addition, members of the media are invited to the final presentation of the panel’s recommendations from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, at the City of Miami Beach Commission Chambers.

About the Urban Land InstituteThe Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has more than 40,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. For more information, please visit uli.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.